PARIS — What will a city with a reputation for its cuisine and a commitment to hosting a climate-smart Olympics provide for thousands of athletes looking to perform at their best? It’s a tricky balance to strike in the Olympic Village, where caterers are whipping up 40,000 meals a day.
Michelin-starred chefs have helped create the menus, with Paris 2024 organisers placing an emphasis on plant-based and locally sourced cuisine in a bid to minimise the Games’ carbon footprint. Menus in and around the athletes’ spacious food hall include twisted artichoke and truffle croissants, lentil dal and beef-free bourguignon.
But some athletes want more meat.
Sodexo Live, the French company responsible for catering for the athletes’ village and many of the Olympic venues, said on Monday it had adjusted its supplies in response to athlete feedback and consumption patterns early in the Games.
“Certain products, such as eggs and grilled meats, are particularly popular among athletes and we have quickly increased quantities of them,” the company said in a statement.
“We have strengthened our animal protein supply with an extra 700 kilos of eggs and one tonne of meat to meet the needs of our athletes, who are at the heart of the Paris 2024 Games,” Etienne Thobois, CEO of the Paris Olympics, told reporters.
That means food served in the athletes’ village may not end up being as climate-friendly as hoped: Plans to have no air conditioning in the village were thwarted when teams announced they would bring their own.
The British team was the most vocal in their complaints about the food, with Andy Anson, chief executive of the British Olympic Association, telling The Times on the eve of the opening ceremony that “the food is inadequate.”
“There are shortages of certain foods, including eggs, chicken and certain carbohydrates, and there are also issues with the quality of the diet, with athletes being served raw meat,” Anson said.
He said the British team is one of the teams that normally brings in its own chef but had to bring in an extra chef to support athletes who didn’t want to eat in the Olympic Village.
Members of the German men’s hockey team also complained about the food.
“Basically, at peak times it takes a very long time because it’s completely packed,” captain Mats Grambusch told the DPA news agency. “Also, the quality and quantity of the food is not good because there are too many people coming at once.”
Food has been a topic of controversy at past Olympics: Food safety concerns led some teams to bring their own supplies at the 2008 Beijing Games, athletes grew weary of long queues at the 2016 Rio Games, and organizers at the 2021 Tokyo Games apologized after 175 tonnes of food wasted.
Sodexo Live, based outside Paris, has fed many spectators at the 2012 London Olympics and 15 Super Bowls. But catering for the Paris Olympics, which will include a food hall in the Olympic Village that can accommodate 3,500 people and is billed as the world’s largest restaurant, will present additional challenges.
The Paris 2024 Food Vision includes a commitment to serving locally sourced, seasonal foods with less animal protein and more plant-based ingredients as part of a goal to halve the carbon footprint of the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Games.
But organizers expected players preparing for a career-defining moment would prioritize predictability over experimentation, and nutritional needs above all else.
“Athletes need a lot of protein,” acknowledged Olympic food and beverage director Philipp Wurz, “and we can’t just say, let’s go 60 percent or 100 percent vegetarian. That’s not possible.”
So while more than 60 percent of the food available to spectators at Olympic venues is plant-based, it only accounts for about 30 percent of the food served in the Olympic Village, according to caterers — and Sodexo Live says this will remain the case even after supply adjustments.
The food court, housed in a former power station, is designed to allow athletes to tailor their menu to suit their sport’s needs, be it high-protein or high-carb, and US rugby player Ilona Maher demonstrated the potential of carbs with a TikTok video of a plate loaded with bread, croissants and crepes.
Fact sheets help athletes explore nutritional value and environmental impact.
Charles Guiroy, head chef of the Olympic Village, said organizers wanted to showcase French cuisine while being mindful of cultural preferences. “It’s very important to bring French cuisine and gastronomy to the forefront,” he said in an interview. “But we are welcoming the world to our table, and we have to respect the customs and gastronomic culture of other countries as well.”
The 500+ recipes include unique dishes such as lamb moussaka and fried shrimp with chermoula sauce.
“They offer a really good variety of food, so people who come from far away can feel a little more at home,” said American canoeist Casey Eichfeld, adding that there were plenty of protein options.
Shah Mahmoud Noor Zahi, a sprinter from Afghanistan, where a meat-based diet is common, said he appreciated the emphasis on plant-based foods in Paris. “There are a lot of vegetables here that I like,” he said.
Guiroy said one of his favorite dishes is lentil dal with low-fat yogurt, made with green lentils from outside Paris. “It’s very rich in protein,” he said, contributing to the organizers’ goal of sourcing 80 percent of ingredients locally.
Athletes will also have access to a tasting area where five renowned French chefs will take turns presenting dishes they have created for the Olympics.
Paris-based chef Amandine Chaigneau said her recipes were more of a “tribute” to French cuisine than a way to fully immerse athletes in it.
“I started with the principle that we shouldn’t push too hard, but still offer something that’s pretty reassuring,” she said.
One of Chaigneau’s dishes is a twisted croissant filled with artichoke cream and topped with poached eggs, cheese and truffles.
Giroy said the tasting area was conceived primarily as a “moment of discovery and enjoyment after the competition.”
“It’s really cool to have that option and have it all in the cafeteria,” said American canoeist Evi Leibfurs.
Still, America was one of the first countries to decide to send chefs to Paris.
The presence of a familiar chef “gives athletes a sense of security and comfort,” Brian Knutson, director of food and nutrition services for the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, said in an interview.
He and his team created 200 recipes using 900 ingredients, mostly locally sourced, including a speciality French cantaloupe. “It’s my favorite!” he said.
The team is still relying on some supplies from the United States – they shipped more than 30 pallets containing 8,000 high-protein milkshakes – but France has the bulk of the “product we need,” Knutson said.
He said he was surprised to learn that many French bakers take the entire month off in August, but after negotiations, one baker “remained open and supplied us exclusively.”
Knutson’s team, based at the U.S. training center outside Paris, is providing meals and preparing food boxes for U.S. athletes and support staff on the ground. Eating immediately after competing, rather than waiting until they return to the Olympic Village, is especially important for athletes who have a short recovery period, Knutson said.
And what happens when it’s all over? “Game on,” he said. “That’s when the pain au chocolat really comes into play.”
Les Carpenter contributed to this report.
